But no, this was all Wes. Justin could see the adjustments he’d texted about: the way he tightened up his movements, dug harder on his plants and pivots. Colton launched his passes faster. The offensive linemen held back the pass rushers more. Wes joined in blocking about half of the time. Even Justin, who’d watched a dozen of Wes’s practices, couldn’t figure out what play was being run next, whether it would be a rush or a short pass or a deep route.
He was exhausted watching, clinging to his scarf and screaming his heart out. The Louisiana defense, trying to contain Wes and Colton and the team, looked like they were sucking wind by the start of the fourth.
And, in the fourth, Wes scored a touchdown that broke the grinding back-and-forth tie, and on the next play, Louisiana threw an interception that brought the Texas offense back onto the field. They were tired, but they rallied, and Wes blocked for Orlando, who rushed a breakaway sixty-yarder for another touchdown, and they were up fourteen over Louisiana.
After another grueling seven minutes, Colton took a knee to wind down the clock, and Texas put up their seventh win of the season, making them one of only two teams in the league that were still undefeated.
Wes turned to the stands and blew a kiss to the Texas fans. They roared, cheered for him, chanted his name and waved their posters and their 87s.
But Wes was looking right at Justin when he did it. Justin closed his fist around the chilly Louisiana air and brought it to his lips. He kissed his fingers, as if he were kissing Wes’s hand, and sent the kiss right back.
Congratulations, cowboy. You were perfect.
Told you I’d win for you. <3
See you back at home?
Drive safe, mon amour.
“Dude, scoot over.”
Halfway through the drive back to campus, when the rest of the team was snoring, Colton appeared at Wes’s side, shoving him to make room on the two-seater row Wes had claimed for himself.
“What’s up?” he asked, pausing Justin’s playlist and pulling his earbuds out. He tucked his phone into his hoodie and scooted over for Colton’s massive frame.
Colton spun a football in his hands. They were at the late-night portion of the drive, out on the stretch of I-10 that was a whole lot of nothing. Inky darkness filled the windows. Only a few scattered phone screens lit the inside of the bus. Colton was more shadow than man, what little light there was lost in his hoodie and track pants and skirting the rounded edges of the football.
“I know something is going on with you.”
Wes froze. He couldn’t see Colton’s eyes, not in the dark.
“You’re seeing a girl. It’s obvious.”
He let out a whoosh of breath, straightening his legs to try to hide how much they were shaking. “I don’t know what you—”
“Dude. You changed overnight. You went from a brokenhearted mess to practically skipping down the sidewalk. She’s got to be something special if she’s got you like this.”
“Like what?”
“Happy.” Colton spun the football faster. “I’ve never seen you this happy. Ever. So, what gives?” There was a wounded note in Colton’s voice. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
He had no idea what to say. He couldn’t find the words, couldn’t scrape together anything that sounded plausible.
“Where did you guys meet? In class? Or is this the girl from over the summer? The one you were so broken up about? She someone you met when you did that study-abroad thing?”
“Yeah. Yeah, we met over the summer. In Paris.”
“Does she live overseas? Is that why you never brought her around?”
It was an easy out, but he couldn’t speak the lie. He chewed on the words. Stared at the football in Colton’s hands, spinning, spinning, spinning. “No. Local.”
“Well, why haven’t I met her, then?”
He kneed Colton’s thigh and tried to laugh. “Yeah, right. Like I’ll let you go all horndog.”
“Man…” Colton shook his head. “Not this time. I can tell she’s something serious for you. I’ve never seen you like this. You never date, and if you hook up, you’re super chill about it. You’ve got that classy gentleman cowboy vibe that the chicks just swoon for.”
“What are you talking about?”
“All the chicks that are always trying to get your attention! Dude, you’re a pussy magnet. Especially in that ridiculous hat.”
He barked out a laugh as his cheeks flushed, heat racing through every vein and soaking his muscles. “Whatever, man. I’m not interested